Tree planting weeks and days run by tree bodies: the UK, Ireland, Australia and the Arbor Day Foundation
Three tree charities each run a yearly planting week or day: the Tree Council in the UK, the Tree Council of Ireland and Planet Ark in Australia. The Arbor Day Foundation in the United States is a planting nonprofit and is the fourth body. This page reports what each says it runs, when, and the totals it prints.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what each organiser says on its own pages. It is not an endorsement, and the order is not a ranking. The one tree care volunteer day for veterans' cemeteries is on the page about Saluting Branches. These bodies run planting and tree events for the public and schools: none of the pages read names tree care companies as volunteers.
What each body says it runs
| Body and country | What it runs | Dates and figures printed |
|---|---|---|
| The Tree Council, United Kingdom | National Tree Week, which the Tree Council calls the UK's largest tree celebration. It says the week, run with partners, marks the start of the annual tree planting season by planting trees and hedgerows. The 2026 theme is "trees near you". The page carries a searchable map of in-person and online events and a form to submit an event. | November 21 to 29, 2026. |
| Tree Council of Ireland, Ireland | National Tree Week, run with Coillte, which its site calls Ireland's largest celebration of trees. It also runs National Tree Day for primary schools with a sponsor named on its site. Schools take part by planting, joining activities or going on nature walks, and the site says it gives away 2,000 Scots pine saplings to schools. | National Tree Week 2026 ran March 8 to 15, 2026, marked as the 40th, with the theme "Growing a Greener Future Together". National Tree Day 2026 was Thursday, October 1, 2026, and the council's page says it falls on the first Thursday of October each year. |
| Planet Ark, Australia | National Tree Day, which it calls Australia's largest community tree planting and nature care event, started in 1996. It also lists a Schools Tree Day and a Tropical Tree Day. | 2026 dates: Schools Tree Day on Friday, July 24; National Tree Day on Sunday, July 26; Tropical Tree Day on Sunday, December 6. Since 1996 it prints 28 million trees planted, 5 million volunteers and 10 million hours donated. |
| Arbor Day Foundation, United States | A nonprofit that describes itself as inspiring people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees, working through local planting partners and with companies. Its about page lists disaster recovery, reforestation and communities as the places it plants trees. | It prints more than half a billion trees planted, 60 or more countries, 5,400 or more planting partners and more than 50 years. |
What the pages do not say
None of the four pages gives a fee to take part, a rule for tree care firms, or an insurance rule for volunteers, and this page does not report one. Roles in urban forestry that sit beside these events are described on the page about urban forestry programmes, and the wider list of groups is on associations and reading.
Sources
- The Tree Council (UK), National Tree Week page, read October 9, 2026
- Tree Council of Ireland, home page, read October 9, 2026
- Tree Council of Ireland, National Tree Week site, read October 9, 2026
- Tree Council of Ireland, National Tree Day site, read October 9, 2026
- Planet Ark, National Tree Day site, read October 9, 2026
- Arbor Day Foundation, home page, read October 9, 2026
- Arbor Day Foundation, about page, read October 9, 2026